STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Starwood Hotels now has 103 hotels in greater China, along with another 100 signed deals for future hotels there.
The Stamford, Conn., company made the announcement in Shanghai Wednesday following its Asia Pacific investor day. So far this year, the company has opened 11 hotels in China and plans to open another 13 by the end of the year.
The Chinese market, which represents its second-largest outside the U.S., presents huge growth opportunities, Starwood said.
Starwood's Sheraton hotels are expected to be a big part of that growth, the company said, with 90 hotels expected to be operating by 2016. Seven new Sheratons are slated to open in China by the end of this year.
The company has 1,103 properties in nearly 100 countries under a number of brands such as St. Regis, W, Westin, Le Meridien and Sheraton.
Shares of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. rose 65 cents to $53.54 in afternoon trading.
